Publications by authors named "B Goldacre"
Background: In March 2022, a concerning rise in cases of unexplained pediatric hepatitis was reported in multiple countries. Cases were defined as acute hepatitis with serum transaminases >500 U/L (aspartate transaminase [AST] or alanine transaminase [ALT]) in children aged 16 years or younger. We explored a simple federated data analytics method to search for evidence of unreported cases using routinely held data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a multifaceted global challenge, partly driven by inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on treatment of common infections, develop risk prediction models and examine the effects of antibiotics on infection-related hospital admissions.
Methods: With the approval of NHS England, we accessed electronic health records from The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) through OpenSAFELY platform.
Article Synopsis
- Researchers investigated whether ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), used for cholestatic liver diseases, could lower the risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) or primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).
- In a population-based study, data from over 11,000 individuals was analyzed, revealing that UDCA users had a 21% lower risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 compared to non-users.
- The findings warrant further clinical trials to explore UDCA's potential as a preventive treatment for severe COVID-19 outcomes.
Objectives: To examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on deprivation-related inequalities in hospitalisations for cardiovascular disease (CVD) conditions in Denmark and England between March 2018 and December 2021.
Design: Time-series studies in England and Denmark.
Setting: With the approval of National Health Service England, we used English primary care electronic health records, linked to secondary care and death registry data through the OpenSAFELY platform and nationwide Danish health registry data.
Background: The National Health Service (NHS) Long Term Plan, published in 2019, committed to ensuring that every patient in England has the right to digital-first primary care by 2023-2024. The COVID-19 pandemic and infection prevention and control measures accelerated work by the NHS to enable and stimulate the use of online consultation (OC) systems across all practices for improved access to primary care.
Objective: We aimed to explore general practice coding activity associated with the use of OC systems in terms of trends, COVID-19 effect, variation, and quality.